Brother’s Best Friend

by Kaylee, Katy

  Amber shook the thought out of her mind, deciding to enjoy dinner with her best friend and her son. All of this had come down on her in such a short amount of time, and it was starting to feel like too much to handle. Her mind was tired and her heart ached, and she didn’t like either feeling in the least.

  40

  Logan

  Logan stepped out onto the curb and took a deep breath, readying himself for a Monday at the new office. There were going to be a lot of new faces there, and he knew that even more were on their way for interviews. It was starting to actually look like a company, and he loved it. On top of that, he knew he was going to see Amber for the first time since Friday, and he could already feel the fluttering in his chest.

  He took the elevator up, greeting some of the new employees in the sitting area in the front. As he walked down the hall, Amber walked out of her office, almost making him stumble over his own feet. Her hair was down and in bouncing curls. She was wearing more makeup than usual, and her outfit was something he hadn’t ever seen before.

  The tight black skirt was shorter, coming part way up her thigh. She had a tight red tank top tucked into it and a black, open dress coat that came to her waist. Her legs shimmered in the black stockings that had a black line that ran up the back of both of them. Her shiny stiletto heels finished the look off. She looked even sexier than she had the previous days at the office.

  She put an envelope in her box outside of the office and walked back inside, only glancing at him for a second. He walked around the corner and smiled, nodding at a woman leaving her office. He leaned against the doorframe and watched her perfect frame move over to her desk and sit down. She looked up at him and crossed her legs.

  Logan cleared his throat. “You… you look fucking amazing. I saw you when I was coming down the hall and I had to tell you.”

  She pursed her lips looking almost as if she was hiding a smile. Logan narrowed his eyes, wondering if she looked that hot on purpose, to make him suffer. She glanced back up at him. “Thanks.”

  He stepped into the office, looking at her suspiciously. “You wouldn’t happen to be doing that for my benefit, would you? Because if it’s to tease me, you are doing one hell of a job and I don’t want you to stop.”

  She burst into laughter. “Oh sweetie, if I was doing it for you, you would know it. I happen to actually take pride in my appearance now. I’m no longer under my mom’s fashion thumb and my focus isn’t squarely on getting into a college. I tend to enjoy looking my best when I go somewhere.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Well, keep it up. You are putting every other woman in this city to shame.”

  She cleared her throat, her cheeks going red. “Um… are we still having that meeting this morning?”

  Logan smirked, looking down at his watch. “Yeah, give me about ten minutes to get situated.”

  She nodded not looking up at him. He turned and walked down to his office, greeting his secretary with a bit more cheer than normal. “Morning there. I have a meeting with Amber in ten. She can come on in when she gets here. Make sure we aren’t disturbed.”

  The secretary nodded. “Of course.”

  The meeting went off without a hitch, both of them focusing as much as they could on the work at hand. Logan couldn’t help but catch glances of her legs every now and then, though. He was powerless against her sex appeal. By the end, he knew he wasn’t ready to let her go.

  She straightened her papers and looked at her watch. “Lunchtime already.”

  Logan smiled. “Can I take you to lunch? I know this amazing bistro down the street. I think you would like it.”

  She looked at him for a second, but finally agreed. “Let me grab my purse. I’ll meet you at the elevator.”

  They headed over to the bistro in his car and walked inside, being greeted happily as he usually was when he was in LA. They sat in the back corner and Logan noticed immediately how much more relaxed around him she seemed than the week before.

  “I like that tie. It brings out the color in your eyes,” she commented.

  He looked down at it. “It was a gift from the board when we signed the deal for this LA office. But thank you. My eyes were always a point of conversation with people.”

  She put the napkin in her lap and looked up at him strikingly. “They are gorgeous. They always have been.”

  “I have to be honest, the first time you really looked at me, I thought my knees would buckle from your eyes,” he said.

  She blushed and smirked. “Looks like we could have a staring contest that ended with us both on the floor.”

  Logan chuckled. “I don’t think I would mind that too much.”

  Amber’s lips curled to one side. “From past experience, I don’t think either of us would mind that too much. Though I’m pretty sure they might have rules against that here at this restaurant.”

  Logan waved his hands. “Meh, let them watch. I’ll leave a big tip.”

  She laughed loudly. “Wow, look who developed a pretentious attitude, Mr. Big Bucks.”

  He shook his head. “Nope, just telling it like it is. Besides, you are too beautiful for people not to look.”

  She wrung her hands. “Then I guess they would have one hell of a show.”

  They were both being extremely flirty with each other. Logan noticed, though, that in between she would look down at her lap and take a deep breath. He felt like she was hiding something from him. “Are you all right? You look like you have something on your mind. I’ve seen that look a million times and it says, ‘I am hiding something.’”

  She immediately looked up and plastered a smile on her face. “No, I’m fine. Just a little hazy because it’s Monday, that’s all.”

  Her calming smile led him to believe that she was telling the truth, so he let it go. They continued on with their lunch, talking and flirting the entire time. It was like old times, when they didn’t feel like they had a care in the world. It was so easy for them to be comfortable with each other. When Amber let her guard down, he could see how much she enjoyed being around him. He loved the way that she smiled at him and the way she put her hand on his when she laughed. It was just a, easy swipe of her hand against his, but to him it was everything.

  His attraction to her deepened every time he was near her. With every laugh and every smile, he wanted to kiss her more and more. At the end of lunch, he paid the tab and pulled her chair out for her. As she stood up, putting her jacket back on he stopped her in her tracks, grabbing her cheeks. Leaning down, he pressed his lips softly against hers and held them there for several moments. Her hand patted against his chest, but she wasn’t pushing him away, just strengthening the connection between them. He could feel the breath catch in her throat, and it did the same to him.

  When he pulled away, she smiled abashedly and shook her head. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

  Logan chuckled, rubbing his chin. “I suppose not. To be honest, I can’t stop thinking about being with you, being near you, making love to you. It’s on my mind constantly, and if we are throwing it out here, its driving me a little crazy. Every time I get anywhere near you, I want to take you somewhere private and strip all your clothes off.”

  She grinned and tapped her hand against him, pushing in her chair. “Well, you’re just going to have to figure out how to stop feeling that way. I made a rule and we seem to not be able to keep ourselves from breaking it. Don’t get me wrong, I really had fun, and it was hot and everything that goes along with it, but it was irresponsible. We tried this, Logan, and it didn’t happen, and now life is different. I have a son to think about and I can’t go throwing my career away because I can’t control myself. I’m an adult now, and so are you, and with that comes a lot of responsibilities. As adults, we can’t just give into any little whim we have at the drop of a hat. We have to think about the people around us.”

  Logan looked her in her beautiful eyes. “We did that before, too. We shielded everyone around us all the time.”
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  She smiled. “That was a good thing. As far as this… it’s not happening anymore.”

  Logan laughed. “It’s already happened three times. And may I point that two of those times were after you made your rule.”

  Amber took in a deep breath. “Yeah, well it’s not going to happen anymore. I can promise you that. I have the self-control to think about my future and the future of my child before I make any more selfish choices. You should do the same. You worked really hard to get where you are, and that shouldn’t change because you came back here.”

  Logan chuckled and put his hand out to lead her from the restaurant. “Sure, sure. I’ll keep that in mind the next time we have a conversation like this one.”

  She just shook her head and walked out in front of him with a smile on her face. Logan could tell that she may be putting on a tough face for him, putting her foot down, but she didn’t believe what she was saying. The truth was, the two of them were attracted to each other by a force that seemed to be stronger than either of them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help but kiss her, and no matter how hard she tried to pull back or refrain, she always gave in at the first touch of his hand.

  He wasn’t testing her on purpose, he literally was struggling to control himself. It was a battle he fought now every time he was in the same room with her. Meetings were going to be hell standing up in front of everyone and staring over at her across the table. Part of him wondered if it was dumb of him to have hired her, but the other part of him knew it was the perfect choice, at least for the company. He couldn’t believe how perfect she fit in there. It was like having another him walking around the office which made him more comfortable knowing the company would be okay when he left, if he left. He still hadn’t decided on that one and was kind of just playing it as it went.

  Logan walked to the car, bumping into someone by accident. “Oh, sorry, bud.”

  The guy nodded, putting his camera to his chest and looking back at Logan as he walked. In that moment it didn’t seem strange to Logan at all. People flocked to LA from all over the world, and tourists brought the best cameras they could find. They took pictures of everything from the Hollywood sign to obscure graffiti on the sides of buildings.

  He climbed into the back of the car with Amber and gave her a smirk as the car pulled off. He wanted so badly to reach out and take her hand, but he withheld, knowing she would probably pull away anyway. He didn’t know why they were torturing each other, but he knew he had to pull them out of it. What he didn’t see coming was the brick wall he would slam into in just a few hours.

  41

  Amber

  Amber rolled over in the bed, groaning and staring at the alarm clock on her side table. It wasn’t even five in the morning yet, still an hour before she had to get up for work. All she wanted was to go back to sleep, but the constant buzzing of her phone on the dresser refused to allow her to do anything but get up. She sat up in the bed, her hair a mess, and slapped her hands on the mattress below. She pulled her feet around and slugged across the floor, grabbing her phone and climbing back into the bed.

  She pushed the hair from her face and blinked as she flipped on the side table’s lamp. She held the phone in front of her face and furrowed her brow. She had missed four calls and had five unread texts. She opened up the message screen and clicked on the first one. It was from Logan.

  Amber, I don’t know how to express just how deeply sorry I am. Call me when you get this. We’ll fix it. Don’t freak out. That was a strange text from Logan.

  There was a missed call and text from Taylor, so she opened the message. Girl, I know you are dead asleep but seriously wake the fuck up and check the news. I am not kidding. Call me as soon as you do.

  Amber rubbed her head, flipping to the next one from her brother. What the fuck Amber. I want an explanation and I want it now. Wake the fuck up.

  Amber was taken aback by the message. Both of her parents sent texts to call them. She dialed the voicemail and listened to her mom’s message. Like everyone else, she sounded shocked, but there also seemed to be an air of excitement in her voice which was strange all in its own. “Hi sweetie, it’s Mom. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me what was going on. Call me as soon as you get this. Let’s talk. Love you, honey. Keep your chin up.”

  Amber tossed the phone to the side, now more than awake, and grabbed her laptop. She didn’t know what had everyone in such a tizzy, but whatever it was, it had gone down the chain. Why would Logan of all people be apologizing for anything? He had only been there a few weeks and him and her were completely secret. She flipped back through her mind, trying to figure out if someone had died, if someone told on her for Bradley, if someone had dug up dirt on her, but nothing came to mind. She was one of the most chill people that lived, never getting herself into anything deep.

  She typed in Google news, and waited for the stories to process. There were stories about the current politics, war, the Emmy’s and…

  Amber froze in place, absolutely still, not a movement in her body. Three lines down in the entertainment section was a picture of her and Logan sharing a kiss at the restaurant from the day before. Her mouth dropped open as she clicked right, finding that same picture on just about every tabloid page that came up.

  “No, no, no….” she whispered to herself as she clicked on the article.

  The headline made her cringe, but the article was so much worse. “Millionaire and eligible bachelor Logan Townley just might not be on the market any longer. He was spotted inside the posh café, Blue’s on 3rd, Monday afternoon schmoozing it up with this dark-haired beauty. They laughed and joked, leaning toward each other and smiling. When the lunch was over he took her face in his hands in a movie-sequel pose that made every girl weak in the knees and kissed her gently on the lips. Reporters captured this image before watching the two leave the café and ride off in one of his private chauffeured cars. What will come of this, we are all waiting to see. It has been long known that Logan Townley, for business sake, has been contracted to keep any and all relationships strictly behind doors if at all. This would be the first romantic connection the press has ever been able to connect to the Tech Genius…”

  Amber clicked the screen off and shook her head, rubbing her face. “This is so bad. Oh my God.”

  Just then her phone buzzed again. It was her brother, Jordan, calling. She grimaced and picked up the phone, putting it to her ear. “Hello?”

  “MOTHER FUCKING HELL! What in God’s name were you thinking Amber! I am so pissed off right now, it’s not even real. I can’t calm down.” Jordan was more than livid.

  Amber put her hands up. “Just take a deep breath Jordan. I didn’t find out anything about the picture until five seconds ago. Let me process.”

  Jordan scoffed. “Process? You want me to let you process what is going on? You are the one that knew about it and kept it from every member of this family. I mean seriously, did you think you could get away with hiding it forever? The press has been chomping at the bit for four years to get something on Logan. He is the angel boy and no matter how well they play the media, no one is as innocent as he claims to be to the public. They knew eventually he would fuck up.”

  Amber was a bit put off. “Fuck up? I don’t really think kissing me can be considered fucking up, but thanks for the vote of confidence bro. Just because you’re mad about MY life, doesn’t mean you can insult me.”

  Jordan sighed. “I didn’t mean you are a fuck up… No, you are not turning this around on me. You always do that and I am not falling for it this time. You are like some double agent. I want to know, one, what the fuck is going on? And two, how long has it even been happening?”

  Amber didn’t even know what to say. “It just happened, you know, since he’s been back and I’ve been working for him. It’s nothing serious.”

  “It’s serious that my little sister is kissing my best friend on the cover of every tabloid in the country,” he yelled out.

  Amb
er felt terrible. Not only did he just catch her in a lie, but then she continued to lie about her and Logan’s history together. If it weren’t for Bradley she would just come out and tell him they had been together in the past, but that was dangerous. If she told him when they had been together, there would be a really good chance that Jordan would connect the dots and figure out that Logan was the father of her child. That was an incredibly dangerous revelation for him to come to. In fact, it was dangerous for anyone to come to that conclusion.

  Not only would they immediately go to Logan, but she would have to explain herself to her family. That was not the conversation she wanted to have with them over family dinner. They definitely wouldn’t understand their connection, they wouldn’t understand what had happened between them, and they would definitely not get why they were fooling around again. On top of that, if they found out that she had purposely lied about Logan being the father, they would be more than disappointed in her.

  Bradley would be the one that was hurt most in all of it. “Look, Jordan. It was just a thing that happened. It’s not something to blow up about. The media is blowing it completely out of proportion.”

  Jordan snorted. “From the look on your face in the picture it looks like they got it exactly right. You didn’t look like you were the least bit uncomfortable or nervous. That leads me to believe that is not the only time or the only thing you have done.”

  Alice stiffened her shoulders. “Don’t go there, Jordan. We are not having a conversation about my sex life and I don’t even want you to think that you can attempt that right now. I may be your little sister but I am an adult, a grown adult. I can make whatever decisions that I want to. I know you are pissed, but you really need to calm down. At least you know Logan is a good guy.”